Methods and devices for transcranial magnetic stimulation and cortical cartography

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the function of a particular area of the brain, wherein at least one point on the brain is stimulated and/or inhibited, and from the presence of a perceived but not actually present sensory impression as a result of a stimulation pattern and/or a not perceived but actually present sensory impression as a result of an inhibiting pattern, the stimulated or inhibited area of the brain is functionally assigned, and to a device for determining the function of a particular area of the brain, comprising at least one device for stimulating and/or inhibiting at least one particular area of a brain and a device for generating a visual and/or acoustic and/or sensory and/or olfactory sensory impression.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A method for determining the function of a particular area of the brain, said method comprising: 
       simultaneously stimulating and/or inhibiting a plurality of areas of the brain; and  
       functionally assigning the stimulated and/or inhibited areas of the brain based on at least one of (i) presence of a perceived, but not actually present, sensory impression as a result of a stimulation pattern, and (ii) presence of a not perceived, but actually presents, sensory impression as a result of an inhibiting pattern.  
     
     
       2. The method as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein stimulating and/or inhibiting signals are applied using a computer-guided stimulation device. 
     
     
       3. The method as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the method is performed such that a stimulation or inhibiting signal is alternately applied and an actual stimulus is generated, to enable a comparison between the actual sensory impression and the sensory impression induced or inhibited by TMS. 
     
     
       4. The method as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein an actual stimulus following a preceding stimulus deviates with respect to the physical parameters of the actual stimulus. 
     
     
       5. The method as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein for examining the visual cortex of a person, guidelines for the perimeter of the field of vision are optically displayed and the functional areas on the visual cortex are determined from the presence or absence of a perceived stimulus. 
     
     
       6. The method as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein for examining the auditory cortex of a person, a frequency is presented and the structural arrangement of the auditory cortex is deduced from the presence or absence of an acoustic perception. 
     
     
       7. The method as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein for examining the speech cortex, various speech paradigms are used and the functional distribution of the speech cortex is determined from the report thus obtained. 
     
     
       8. The method as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein for examining the sensory cortex of a person, a sensory stimulus is presented and the structure of the sensory cortex is deduced from the presence or absence of a sensory impression. 
     
     
       9. A computer program which performs the method as set forth in  claim 1  when it is loaded on a computer or is running on a computer. 
     
     
       10. A program storage medium or a computer program product comprising the program as set forth in  claim 9 . 
     
     
       11. A method for determining the function of a particular area of a brain, said method comprising: 
       positioning a stimulating device using a simulation model of at least one of (i) the stimulating device, (ii) the head, (iii) the brain, and (iv) the surface of the brain;  
       stimulating and/or inhibiting at least one point of the brain; and  
       functionally assigning the stimulated and/or inhibited areas of the brain based on at least one of (i) presence of a perceived, but not actually present, sensory impression as a result of a stimulation pattern, and (ii) presence of a not perceived, but actually present, sensory impression as a result of an inhibiting pattern.  
     
     
       12. A method for determining the function of a particular area of a brain, said method comprising: 
       stimulating and/or inhibiting at least one point of the brain; and  
       functionally assigning the stimulated and/or inhibited areas of the brain based on at least one of (i) presence of a perceived, but not actually present, sensory impression as a result of a stimulation pattern, and (ii) presence of a not perceived, but actually present, sensory impression as a result of an inhibiting pattern, wherein for examining the olfactory cortex of a person, olfactory stimuli are presented and the structure of the olfactory cortex is deduced from the presence or absence of an olfactory sensory impression.  
     
     
       13. A device for determining the function of a particular area of the brain, said device comprising: 
       a plurality of devices for simultaneously stimulating and/or inhibiting a plurality of areas of a brain; and  
       a device for generating a visual and/or acoustic and/or sensory and/or olfactory sensory impression.  
     
     
       14. The device as set forth in  claim 13 , which is suitable for performing a method for determining the function of a particular area of the brain, wherein at least one point of the brain is stimulated and/or inhibited, and from the presence of a perceived but not actually present sensory impression as a result of a stimulation pattern and/or a not perceived but actually present sensory impression as a result of an inhibiting pattern, the stimulated or inhibited area of the brain is functionally assigned.